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My daughter is making me cry

I dont know what to do about my three year old. We are trying everything but im out of ideas.

When she wont listen or is naughty which is often at the moment she goes in the corner, or more recently on the naughty step. But she wont stand in the corner she will lay and fiddle with things. And if we put her on the step she will repeatedly get off it or fiddle with the door handle - basically refusing to do whatever we ask her. We have read al the supernanny advice and tried the keep putting her back to the corner/step but she just gets off/out again. Being so pregnant lifting is hard for me and i just get tired and frustrated - but she can go on for hours. Literally.

We have a rewards chart too that we got from supernanny but she is always too naughty to go up a step.

She was such a good girl beforer i got pregnant and we know her acting up is part of her regression - she's also started baby talking and wanting nappies.

I'm sitting here crying after a huge hour long battle of putting her back in the cvcorner after which i gave up trying to get her to have time out and lost my temper, shouted and told her she could have no tv, treats or dolly's today. Now i'm so angry with her i can barely speak to her.

This is not how we started - we used to put her in the corner and then explain why we had, ask her to say sorry and then give her a kiss and a cuddle and tell her we loved her. It was all really good. But she has changed.

She's also not bothered about smacked bottoms - i can go on forever doing that without it making the blindest bit of difference (no smacking critisms please).

Comments (9)

My 5 yr old is testing my patience at the moment. She stamps her feet and is to rude or shouts at me. Naughty step and smacked bottom in my house too! I told her this morning that if she refuses to listen or continues to say no to me then I will empty her bedroom of her toys for each no. I had 2 no's this morning, so I took 2 of her fav toys away. I told her they will go to ''poor children that have nothing'' (I've taken them to the garage) so let's see if this works. You feel like giving in coz your so tired, but they win if you give in. Stand your ground Hun x

I don't really know what to suggest, when our little girl gets out of control we shut her in her room. That usually does the trick, although, you run the risk of her just playing with things. I hope it's just a phase though and that your little one will be back to normal soon. Kids have a unique way of pushing our buttons don't they?!!

Pick your battles wisely at this point... some things may be ok just to ignore. Ive found this with my nearly 3 yr old. Shes pushing it big time but certain times ive found ignoring her thebbest option and she soon stops. If I constantly tell her off it winds me up and she gets worse just for attention.
Its real hard but I expect it to some degree because of baby comin soon.

Its real hard I know. I hate loosing my temper with her as I end up coming off worse n getting stressed and crying lol. She must think im crazy lol

Im also trying not to smack as she turned around n smacked the cats for being naughty! :-s deffo dont want her smacking baby. My partner doesnt believe in it so im on my own with that one (didn't do me any harm) but I deffo think u need to maybe try a different approach, something new.
Instead of sending her to naughty step or room sometimes I switch it up n say right if u dont stop then mummys going upstairs and wont come back till your good again... this instantly sends her into a panic lol!
We've also thrown a few things in the bin... I make her do it too and once she calms down n apologise we will get them back (I use a clean bin lol)
I dont know what else to say... just your not alone!

Just read this out to my mum because it hit home so much and her response was "did you write that"?!
It is EXACTLY what I am going through with poppy (who will be 3 in August).
With me it's bedtime that has suddenly become a huge battle. We've done the same routine since birth with her and she was always an angel going to bed and now it has me in tears every night that she tests me at every chance in the run up to bedtime.
I have tried everything you have and find the only thing that works is ignoring her bad behaviour (which is easier said than done when I'm tired and hormonal).
I don't have any advise but just wanted to write to say I totally sympathise and am in exactly the same boat.
We know it's a phase but when is it going to pass?!
If you want to chat or have any breakthroughs, message me!
Good luck,

My daughter was exactly the same and has only recently improved..... She's now 8! She's very strong minded and stubborn and clever and creative and always got her own agenda. She needs prompts 5 mins before something will happen eg. Bedtime, bath time etc and given half a chance will argue her way out of anything.

Don't let it get to you! Keep calm! Raising a child is long term! You don't have to get everything right! Apologise if it all goes wrong! Lots of cuddles! Lots of love! (My dd (dear daughter) would have been too busy for cuddles at 3 but realises now she wants to be loved) when they see red they don't reason so shorten your sentences. The thing that changed me was realising no one would ever love her more than me and I had to work on her self esteem as well as her behaviour. She needed to know I loved her! Oh and as for jealousy, the benefit of being 8 is she can express it better! She even gets jealous if I tell the dog she's a good girl! She keeps telling me how glad she is that she won't be an only child anymore so it's all good!

My 3yo is exactly the same the naughty step doesn't work and nor does a reward chsrty, I think I might try taking the toys away... I do the count to 3, that can work... sometimes. We do have smacked bottoms in this house, never did me any harm! She has started nursery and her behaviour had turned since then. I also loose my temper and shout and cry. I completely lost it the other week over some ice lollies I made and put in the freezer for her-every 5 seconds she was opening the freezer and wanted them ( they were not ready) I had this all day- in the end she ate a bowl of slush as I gave in stormed upstairs and cried. She really knows how to push it. What makes it worse is after I have shouted I worry about the baby and what he must be tthinking!!! Coz when I shout I shout! But she pushes me to the point where I just want to scream!! She has been doing it today as well :( hubby on lates so doesnt finish till 10pm so im on my own with her from 1pm- bedtime and it can get very difficult :( swollen feet and the second I sit down she wants me up and wants something I crave bedtime lol

She sounds exactly like my three year old son who laughs when you give him a row and refuses to stay on the naughty step. He is officially a threenager! I am not sure exactly how to advise as i am struggling myself at the moment just know you are not alone. I do find taking toys away, tv off and telling him no story at bedtime or no park tomorrow helps a bit. I think they are just testing boundaries but it is hellish on the stress levels. Good luck and i hope things settle down soon.

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